IT’S that time of the year when clubs attempt to bolster their squads for the years ahead, with one eye also on retention.
For Leeds Rhinos, a number of their overseas quota players come off contract at the end of the 2023 Super League season, including Aidan Sezer, Blake Austin, Zane Tetevano and David Fusitu’a.
That has, inevitably, seen the West Yorkshire club being linked with some overseas stars – one of them being Wests Tigers halfback Luke Brooks.
Another one of those has been Newcastle Knights stalwart Lachlan Fitzgibbon
“Lachlan has been a Knight since 2015 and wants to stay,” a member of Fitzgibbon’s management team told The Mole at the Wide World of Sports.
“But like a lot of clubs, the Knights have salary cap issues and that complicates things.
“We will sit down with him soon and decide what his next move is.”
Fitzgibbon himself told the Newcastle Herald that he would be open to a move to Super League after making 108 appearances for the Knights since debuting back in 2015.
That being said, Smith was coy when asked about a potential move for the back-rower, simply saying: “I’ll provide recruitment updates when there’s an update. Recruitment is an ongoing process.”
